DARE WRIGHT

Dare Wright was born in Canada on December 3, 1914. Her parents' marriage dissolved before Dare turned three, and Dare's father left with her older brother, Blaine. The children were not to reunite until they were in their twenties.
Dare grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and showed an early creative aptitude. Encouraged by her mother, the artist Edith Stevenson Wright, Dare learned to sketch, paint, write, and sew. It took the catalyst of photography for Dare to later combine these talents into her "Lonely Doll" ® book series.
Moving to New York in her twenties, Dare modeled for major magazines and had small parts in theatrical productions. A stunning beauty, Dare seemed a natural for show business, but she was never comfortable performing in a public venue. Competition, whether with other actresses for roles, or with her mother as a painter, was too distressing. Instead, Dare found her niche as a photographer, first in the fashion field, and then as a children's book author.
In 1941, Dare and her brother Blaine met for the first time since they had been separated as children. Blaine was handsome, witty, and everything Dare could have wished for in a sibling. Blaine introduced Dare to his RAF friend, Philip Sandeman. The two became engaged, but the wedding never transpired.
The 1957 success of Dare's first book, "The Lonely Doll", brought her recognition as both an author and photographer. Illustrated with Dare's haunting black and white photographs, the seemingly simple text touched both children and their parents.
Almost fifty years later, Dare's nineteen published books continue to delight a new generation of readers.

EDITH STEVENSON WRIGHT

Dare's mother, "Edie", was a highly respected portrait artist. Small, intense, and exceptionally quirky, she never relinquished her maternal hold on Dare. Dare, in her turn, played the role of a dutiful child throughout her life.
Whatever damage Edie wrought, it did not come from intentional malevolence. In person, Edie resembled Agnes Moorehead in the old "Bewitched" television series. This tiny figure with tousled red curls often seemed something of a child herself. Or perhaps a creature from another planet. She died sharing Dare's bed.

BLAINE WRIGHT

Dare's brother Blaine was brilliant, talented, gorgeous, and emotionally damaged. He never forgave his mother for abandoning him in childhood. Blaine retreated to an island to write and live off the proceeds of a fishing lure he invented. A naturalist, he later regretted his part in the fishes' deaths and took an ad out asking people not to buy the product. The attempt backfired, and sales of the "Phoebe" lure increased.
Once when I was a child, Blaine appeared at my apartment holding an antique birdcage with two fluffy chicks.
"Brook, you must take them out for a walk every day. When people ask you what the birds are, answer 'Tasmanian quail!' They are really bantam hens, but no one will dispute you."
He was correct. As I carried the cage through my New York neighborhood, everyone agreed the birds were fine examples of Tasmanian quail.

PHILIP SANDEMAN

Philip Sandeman met Dare's brother Blaine during WWII. Blaine introduced this dashing RAF pilot to his sister, and the two became engaged. Distance and disposition played roles in their breakup, but Philip's infidelity would qualify him as a cad. His affair with a married woman, who went by the curious nickname, "Pussy", along with Dare's reticence to enter a physical relationship, doomed the engagement. Philip broke it off in a manner both cowardly and callous. Dare would tell later acquaintances that Philip had been killed in the war. In fact, he lived until an air show accident took his life in the 1950s.